1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a semiconductor device such as a solar cell and a manufacturing method thereof
2. Description of the Related Art
A solar cell has been spread not only to be used as a solar electric power generation system installed outdoors but also to be used as a power source of an electronic device with low power consumption such as a calculator, a radio, and a watch. In such a consumer use, when an appearance of an electronic device is as important as a function thereof as is the case for a wrist watch, for example, a mounting method of the solar cell is also devised. The solar cell is directly used as a dial of a watch, or is placed under a semitranslucent dial of the watch to make it unnoticeable.
A large part of a solar cell is composed of a substrate formed from glass, stainless, or an organic resin material or the like, and a photoelectric conversion layer formed by a thin film of an amorphous semiconductor, a microcrystalline semiconductor, or a chalcopalide-based (or II-VI group) compound semiconductor stacked over the substrate. Especially, a solar cell using an organic resin material for the substrate is thin and lightweight, and has an excellent shock resistance, so that it is not easily cracked even if it is dropped. Accordingly, it is suitable for the solar cell to be mounted to a portable product such as a card type calculator, or a wrist watch, and a remote-control device of an indoor electronic device such as a television (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-185745).
A solar cell which is used for various electric devices is needed to be reduced in size and weight as a reduction in size and weight of an electronic device.